


Wilted Roses Smell Just As Sweet

by flymetcthemccn



Category: Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (2013)
Genre: Falling In Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Sad and Sweet, and neither am i don't get any funny ideas, mainly this story was my excuse to write gatsby as a werewolf, no he's not a furry i promise, standard beauty and the beast au ig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flymetcthemccn/pseuds/flymetcthemccn
Summary: Nick is the poor peasant boy, son of a reclusive inventor who gets caught up in a world of fairytales that his books could only dream of replicating. Gatsby is a cursed prince doomed to spend the rest of his life as a beast unless he could find someone who loves him in return.
Relationships: Daisy Buchanan/Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway & Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway/Jay Gatsby
Comments: 13
Kudos: 57





	1. Beast of Burden

_A lavish party fit for a king. One that everyone who was anyone was supposed to attend. Girls of varying shapes and sizes and from various kingdoms came to flock at the feet of the illustrious and mysterious Prince Gatsby, hoping to be chosen as his queen._

_He looked down at the women with a rather taut glare, examining them all carefully. As he danced with a few of the ladies, he found himself entranced by one. A gorgeous blonde with soft waves, eyes as blue as the sea. Her white dress flared out as she moved, her lace-like mask framing an angelic, heart-like face. Her - she was perfect._

_The pair danced in silence for what felt like hours, the Prince's grip tight on the girl's frail hands, her fingers long and overlapping his. The silence was broken by the Prince's honey-like voice that seemed to dribble from his mouth, "How would you like to be my queen?" His lips spread into a long smirk as the blonde looked up at him with innocent, doe-like eyes. "I see arrogance in your smile." She said in a gentle hum, looking down to the marble floor as the pair continued to waltz._

_"Arrogance? Please." The Prince said with a scoff, "I want to marry you. You're gorgeous." The woman looked back up to him again, a light giggle leaving her plump lips, "But it seems you know nothing of my personality. You're willing to marry me on just appearance alone?"_

_"Of course." Prince Gatsby said in a voice lower than a whisper, practically unable to be heard over the opera singer's loud falsettos and piano music that seemed to control the pair's movements as if they belonged in a music box. The woman shook her head, as her beautiful angelic face started to wrinkle, her blonde waves once soft and light graying and turning as dry as straw._

_"What?!" The Prince said in shock as the woman removed her mask, to reveal watery blue eyes surrounded by crows feet. Her gorgeous appearance had melted into that of a haggard old woman. "Do you still love me now?" She said in a raspy and smoky voice, much different than the voice that sounded like a choir moments before. The Prince moved away, "No! You're ... you're hideous!"_

_"You have no love in your heart." The woman simply said, stepping into the center of the ballroom floor as she lifted her hand, her wrinkly fingertips glowing a bright golden yellow, the color of morning sunlight. The Prince's body felt heavy, as if it were being drawn into a slumber, before becoming racked with pain in his limbs._

_The male watched in fear as his fingernails lengthened into claws, his skin becoming blanketed by coarse yellow fur, and a muzzle entering his field of vision. He let out a loud scream at the sudden pain, the voice sounding foreign and deep - this wasn't him. This was ... something else. A beast._

_As the Prince let out a loud howl, the guests scurried out of the ballroom in fear. The Enchantress left him with a simple warning, "If you cannot find love by your thirtieth year, you are doomed to remain a beast for all eternity. But, if you find someone who loves you in return, then the spell will be broken." To keep track of the spell's progression, a magical rose was placed on an ornate table in the West Wing, as the castle's outward appearance melted and turned rather frightening. A castle that screamed "abandon all hope ye who enter here."_

_And so, the prince lived in the darkness of his castle, in the form of a sulking beast, watching solemnly as the rose wilted in its glass case. All hope was lost for the Prince. **Who could ever learn to love a beast?**_

_**✼~✼~✼** _

_Squeal!_

Nick woke up with a start to the sound of the pigs just outside of his window. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced down at the pig pen as he watched his father slowly filling up the bucket with feed. He opened up his window with a smile, "Good morning, father."

The older man looked up at Nick with an almost ecstatic grin, "Well, good morning! I trust you slept well. Come, help me with some chores - your old papa is getting quite rickety nowadays." The brunette smiled and nodded, getting on his daily clothes which consisted of a white shirt and powder blue vest over it, as well as some white slacks. The same thing every day: get up, help father with chores, go to the library, pick things up for father's inventions, and then back home. There was no variety, and as a result, Nick had become an avid reader. His bookshelf was getting fuller with books every day, some of which were even being pushed out by others, onto the floor where they spread and wrinkled a few of the parchment papers.

Nick picked one of the shorter novels off of the ground and blew some dust off of it, taking a moment to stroke the navy leather cover of the book. His books were like his children - he spent many hours organizing them and adding new ones to his shelf. Most of the books that he had accrued had to be returned to the bookstore, but he had made good friends with the older woman in charge and was allowed to keep them, as Nick was practically her only customer.

He went downstairs after getting his brown buckled shoes on, going to help his father with the chores. He had been spreading feed around in the chicken pen before he heard the galloping of hooves down the cobblestone roads. He knew that sound anywhere.

"Myrtle, would you go and get some ammunition for my rifle? I need to go hunting this afternoon." The booming voice had said, glaring down at the redhead below him. "Of course, Tom!" The lighter voice chirped as she ran into the general store to grab ammunition. Nick glanced over at the male on his large black horse, noticing his posture. Rather full of himself, by the straightness of his back and face that seemed to immediately put anyone to submission. But not Nick. 

"Nicky?" Another feminine voice had sounded. Through the corner of Nick's eye, he saw the billowing of a lavender dress, flowing in the wind to reveal pale ankles that lacked stockings or shoes. She smiled, jumping into the chicken pen as the birds all started to cluck and run around fearfully from the sudden movement. "Good morning Daisy." Nick simply said in a rather monotone voice, still spreading some seed on the ground.

"Ah, Daisy~!" The booming voice from before. _Tom_. Nick rolled his eyes, glancing down at the blonde girl next to him as Daisy jumped back over the wooden fence to stand next to Tom's proud and rather muscular horse. Daisy pat the horse's muzzle, earning a satisfied whinny from the animal before going onto her tip-toes, hugging Tom. Tom liked beautiful women, and Nick couldn't doubt that Daisy was one of the most beautiful girls in the town. Her parents had abandoned her as a baby, and thus, she lived with Nick her whole life. Genetically, they were cousins, but their relationship was strong, as if they were brother and sister.

Nick continued his duties before moving back to get into the house. But, the burly male stopped him, "Where do you think you're going?" Nick furrowed his brows and chuckled lightly, "My ... house?"

"Hm. That's what I thought. I'm taking Daisy for a ride around the countryside. I'll bring her back soon. Tell your loony father not to worry for too long." Tom let out a snorting laugh, picking up the girl and putting her onto the back of his horse, which caused the blonde to let out a squeak and an airy giggle. Nick nodded, "Oh, definitely." The brunette mumbled under his breath, " _What a brute_."

"Excuse me?" Tom asked, jumping off of his horse and shoving the frail brunette to the ground. "I'll have you know, I am _no_ brute. I am the commander in chief of France's great army!" Nick looked up at him with angular eyes, not contorted into a glare, but definitely displeased in nature, "Alright." Nick was never a fighter; in fact, he was rather submissive in nature.

Myrtle had toddled out just at that moment and let out a snorting laugh of her own, "You really got him good, Tom!" Tom rolled his dark brown, almost black eyes, "Just give me the gun and we'll be on our way. Now move it!" He yelled out in his baritone voice as he fired a shot towards the ground next to Nick, causing the brunette to jump up at the sudden loud noise. As the ringing in his ears only became more pronounced, Nick scampered back into the house. Nick cared for Daisy as if she were his little sister, wanting to keep her safe. This Tom was not right for her, but alas, it was her life. She needed a powerful man in her life to have many children and be a good housewife. After-all, that was supposedly a woman's purpose in this small farming town.

Just as Tom and Daisy had left for the fields, with Myrtle trailing along behind them, the town had sprung to life. Bakers carried their trays of baguettes towards the farmers market to sell them, as well as fishermen bringing their catches of the day towards the stream to clean them off. Even the florists had showed, bringing lovely bouquets of celandines and chrysanthemums. The fertile soil provided rich color for the flowers, and as Nick watched the townspeople from his window, he had to let out a small smile. They seemed to find joy in the simplest things.

At around eleven in the morning, once the crowds had died down, Nick decided to get on his coat and walk towards the bookstore to find a new novel. As he became lost in the stacks, he found an old copy of his favorite fairytale. A prince in disguise, magic, sword fights ... ah, how he wished things like that were real. His life was too boring, too predictable. How he longed for some kind of excitement, something to push him out of his comfort zone.

Nick was reading the novel at the stoop just below the window of the bookstore, while the lonely old woman reorganized the stacks. The kettle was whistling quietly on the stove, as she had decided to brew a cup of tea for the both of them. Nick had no mother. He never knew her, so this old woman almost acted like his mother. She knew his deepest secrets, and Nick knew hers. They confided in each other and supported each other whenever they could, and for that, Nick was forever grateful. Soon enough, the brunette was roused out of his concentration by cheering crowds as Tom rode back in. _Nothing good can last._

The older woman came by with a cup of tea for Nick as she pushed open the squeaky double windows. "The peacock is here to show off his feathers." She said in a worn out and tired voice, before getting back on her step stool to reorganize the shelves yet again. Nick watched the display as Daisy jumped off the back of Tom's horse. Her cheeks were supple and red, unusual for the innocent blonde. Her bright green eyes were brighter against the redness of her usually porcelain skin, and her blonde ringlet curls were knotted and formed a sort of frizzy halo around her head. Daisy ran back into her house as Tom jumped off of his horse, pulling it over to a random person's house as the person practically groveled at Tom's feet, immediately bringing out some water and oats for the equine animal. Tom had practically everyone in the palm of his hand, it seemed.

With a sigh, Nick left through the back entrance of the bookstore, hoping to avoid the brute who walked around with an incredible arrogance. He scurried back to his home like a mouse with cheese in tow. When he arrived, Daisy was rushing around the house, many things in her arms.

"What are you doing, Daisy?" Nick asked, putting the book underneath his arm. She glanced over at him and grinned widely, chirping like a songbird, "Father's taking me to the inventor's festival!" Daisy quickly folded her things, before running over to place them in the hutch. His father was going to show off a new music box that he had created, and took one of the children every year; this year, it had been Daisy's turn to attend. 

"Would you like anything while we're off at the festival?" Nick's father had asked, turning his attention away from packing a trunk full of clothes and extra gears in case his invention were to break down. Daisy had a huge smile on her face as she folded up some more of her dresses, packing them away in a trunk of her own that was decorated with painted flowers. The paint had worn down incredibly from extended use, as well as a lack of gloss on the wood to protect them.

"A rose." Nick mumbled after some slight hesitation. "A simple rose. They don't have as many here as they did in Paris." Nick's father looked at him with a puzzled expression, one eyebrow cocked before he simply shrugged, "Alright. One rose." 

Nick helped the pair pack their things onto the carriage, and before he knew it, they were off to the inventor's festival, which was in a bigger city. It took a few days to travel by carriage to the festival, so the brunette would have some much needed alone time to catch up on all of the books that he started but never completed. He sat at the window stoop for days, his book pile only growing as he completed fairytale after fairytale, before he saw something odd.

Late in the evening, his father's white and gray speckled horse was running towards the house, stopping in front of it to get a much needed drink of water. His father was atop the animal, quickly jumping off with a broken lantern in hand, the flame inside of it merely flickering as it struggled to continue burning with the lack of wax. The older, white-haired male slammed on the oak wood door as Nick jumped to answer it.

The brunette looked on with surprise evident in his evergreen eyes; his father was in terrible condition, hacking and wheezing as he struggled to regain his breath. He sounded much older than he was supposed to. "I-It's Daisy. She's been kidnapped by some ... _beast!"_


	2. The Mystery Unfolds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick finds out more about the mysterious beast that has kidnapped his cousin, and sets out on the journey to find her.

"A... A beast?" Nick questioned, "But, Father, w-what are you talking about? There's no such thing!" The brunette was struggling to grasp what his father had said, his eyes wide with a hint of fear. Beasts only appeared in fairytales. He knew his father was older, but he didn't think that his father was that close to losing his sanity. Visions started to go through his mind of what ... how, this beast could exist. A pair of glowing eyes, fanged teeth bared in aggression. The vision chilled Nick to the core. 

"I know what I saw--he was huge! Claws the length of swords, fur as yellow as the moon. It was-I-I don't know, he was angry with me for something..." Nick's father stated, fetching a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the sweat off of his now paled face. Nick's brows furrowed at his father's statement, "Wait, angry at you? For what?" 

Nick's father finally met the brunette's eyes, his green irises quivering with fear. "Well, Daisy and I were on the way to the inventor's fair, when all of the sudden, I saw a rose bush. And I remembered what you had wanted...how you wanted a rose...so of course I went to fetch one. I got out my pliers and snipped off a lovely red one." The older man presented Nick with a ruby red rose, one that was as fresh as if it were still on the bush. Nick plucked the thorns with his bitten nails as his father continued his story.

"Once I clipped the rose, I saw a pair of icy blue eyes staring at me. And, when I say they belonged to no man...I thought it was a trick of the mind, that it was just my conscious trying to guilt me for taking the rose. But then I heard this ... low growling, and I saw this monstrous figure. And in a flash, he grabbed Daisy off of the back of my wagon and ran off with her back into his castle. I tried to burst in, but the doors were locked by some kind of spell. I couldn't get in no matter how hard I tried!" Nick's father was restless now, and appeared as if he were about to faint, so the brunette placed a hand on his back and brought him upstairs to his bed.

"Y-You believe me, right Nicholas?" The father asked, glancing up at Nick with tired, teary eyes. Nick simply nodded, tucking his father into his bed and resting a cold compress on his head, just in case he was having a delusion due to his fever. "I do, Father." Nick simply stated, his eyes falling to the ground as he nodded with respect. "T-Thank you, my boy." Nick's father reached a wrinkly hand towards his heir, falling into a rather ferocious coughing fit. The brunette brought a glass of water to his father's mouth - due to the cold, it seems like his father might've caught a bout of pneumonia.

"Rest now, Father. The beast won't get you here." Nick smiled lightly, before taking his leave from his father's chambers. Exhaustion hit the male like a stampeding elephant as he collapsed to the floor just outside of the room, head falling into his hands. His thoughts were racing - you have to go save her! No, it's too risky! Why don't you let that brute Tom go and do it? But, she's my sister. I have to.

As Nick silently begged for some peace and quiet from his inner demons, the voices instead grew louder, more wanting. His father would want him to go and save Daisy, no matter the circumstance. Daisy would do it for him, after all, if the situation were reversed. As Nick rubbed the tiredness from his green eyes, he looked up, feeling almost alien in his own body. 

_You have to help her. It’s what Father would want._

Nick shook his head, banishing the sleepiness from his eyes as he stood up. Almost without thinking or processing, he zoomed outside and mounted his father’s horse, taking off into the forest. What are you doing, Nick? Stop! He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

*~*~*

Nightfall came quickly, enshrouding the forest in its darkness. With the darkness came many unwelcome tricks – the shadows of shrubbery fooling the brunette into thinking predators were watching him, or the lanterns of crashed carriages appearing like the eyes of a ferocious beast – maybe the ferocious beast that his father spoke of. It was safe to say Nick was on guard.

As Nick and his father’s horse traversed the darkened woods, the sounds of owls hooting and cicadas buzzing accompanying him, he started to feel somewhat drowsy. His eyes drifted closed for what seemed like a short moment before his head crashed upon his horse’s mane, soft snores leaving his body. 

It was a mistake to rest.

Suddenly, a whinny from his horse, a sudden movement, and a thump onto the dirt trail startled Nick awake. His horse was running in the opposite direction, being chased by four or five shadowy figures. Nick was too dazed to pick out the details, but what he could determine was that they ran in a pack, and on all fours. Pain shot up his tailbone and, in an attempt to relieve it, he rubbed at the small of his back. The slight massage helped, but he was aroused from his confusion by a low growl.

Nick looked up to see a scarred and emaciated wolf standing above him, tufts of fur missing from its generous gray hide and a scar over its left eye. Its teeth were borne in aggression at the brunette. The lupine approached slowly, jaw opening as if prepared to swallow him whole; Nick placed his hands up in defense as the wolf chomped at his hand, leaving quite the bloody wound. Nick was quite obviously panicked – he knew if he didn’t get that wound cleaned, he could easily die of rabies or sepsis within a month. 

As panic rushed through the blonde’s body, releasing itself in nervous sweat, Nick jumped up and ran after his horse, which was cornered at the end of a small clearing. The alpha’s lackeys were jumping up at the palomino, attempting to take bites out of its rather chunky underbelly, and the horse stood on its hind legs to try and avoid the attacks. Nick whistled at the horse to get its attention, but the horse seemed too spooked to listen, still trying to avoid the wolf’s bites and claws.

 _What did you read in your books?_ He had remembered reading a book on lupines; their weakness was buried in the rather interesting paragraphs about their history and evolutionary tree. As if his brain were a filing cabinet, Nick was flipping through various thoughts, almost reading the book in his mind. 

Before, it came to him. “ _Loud noises startle beasts like wolves._ ”

Nick felt like a massive imbecile, but he knew that in an effort to keep his horse (and himself, for that matter), safe, he needed to do this. He started to clap his hands quite loudly and screech. The wolves certainly didn’t like the noise. With a few whimpers, the wolves and their alpha retreated back into the shrubbery. Once the beasts were gone, Nick ran over to his horse. The animal had a large gash in its stomach. Thankfully, it wasn’t bleeding, merely a surface wound.

Upon searching through his father’s pack, he found some leftover gauze that he proceeded to wrap around the horse’s stomach. The horse butt its face into Nick’s, whinnying in content – it seemed glad that Nick had saved the both of them from sudden death. After the horse’s wound was covered, he gave a pat to the large equine’s nose and mounted it once more, starting the trek again. And making sure to stay awake this time. While he sat atop the horse, he ripped off a piece of his sweater, wrapping it around his hand as one quick look into his pack told him that he didn’t have enough gauze for himself, having wasted it on his horse.

Nick had started to sing to himself in an effort to pass the time. He did not have the voice of a songbird, but a few shanties would keep him company in the vast expanse of the wilderness. He was never the outdoors type, always opting to stay inside with his books. The books teleported him to worlds unknown – why go outside when you could go to fair Verona, or a magical kingdom, or even an island of pirates?

The moon peeked through the clouds, lighting the forest up in its pale glow as a chorus of wolves howling filled the air. A shudder was sent through Nick’s body as he tried to focus on the sound of his horse’s hooves clicking against the ground. As he continued his trek, he saw a crashed carriage on the side of the dirt road, along with a trunk that was broken. The lid had been tossed off of its hinges and to the right of the container, the contents strewn about all over the dirt. They looked … familiar.

Nick hopped off of his horse and knelt down to study the clothing. Many pink and lilac dresses, some reeking of a strong, lavender scented perfume. These were Daisy’s clothes. There was no question of that in Nick’s mind. Some of the skirts of the dresses were ripped from being torn on a nearby bush. As he looked to his left, he saw a trail of blood leading off in an opposite direction, as well as a tuft of blonde fur in the bush. “Hm,” Nick mused, grabbing his horse’s reins and dragging the white horse along with him, following the blood trail.

*~*~*

Like a bloodhound to a scent, Nick was on the case. As he followed the trail, the spatters became less and less frequent, as if whatever was bleeding had suddenly stopped or covered its wound somehow. A crack of lightning and a heavy downpour of rain jostled Nick’s attention upwards, to see a rather foreboding black castle in the distance.

From what Nick could deduce, the castle had rather Gothic architecture, with spires that pointed upwards to the sky. Fearsome gargoyles kept watch over the towers, their eyes taut in glares and ugly fangs shown off. The male felt a chill run down his spine just looking at it. His horse didn’t seem too pleased either, hooves tapping upon the ground as the animal threatened to run away. Nick simply pet the animal’s snout in an effort to keep it calm.

Slowly, Nick approached the large building. His body shook in absolute terror as he let his legs climb the stairs. There was a puddle of blood right by the doorway. Whatever was bleeding must’ve come here, or, have been let in.

A large lion-shaped door knocker sat at the center of the massive black doors; Nick hesitantly reached his hand to use it, hearing a low knocking that echoed throughout the entryway. Nick refused to leave without a response. If this was the castle that his father was talking about, this must be where Daisy was. After a few moments with no response, Nick decided to gently budge the door open with his shoulder. And, by a miracle, the door creaked open slightly. Before Nick entered, he tied his horse up at the side of the stairs, feeding it a carrot from his father’s satchel. The horse seemed pleased with the gift. 

Nick walked into the castle rather unceremoniously. “Hello?” He called as he wiped his shoes on the velvet red carpet beneath his boots. A mirror to his right showed how dirtied he actually was from his fall, and how soaked from head to toe he actually was from the incoming storm. Yet again, no response, just the echoes of his own voice. For a moment in his silence he studied the vast expanses of the castle – the same Gothic architecture, and more of those damned gargoyles. _Whoever decorated this castle really enlisted on the help of supernatural beings to protect against their enemies._

“Hello?” Nick called out again, deciding to climb the large grand staircase directly at his center. Once reaching the top of the stairs, he heard a girlish scream, one he knew could only be Daisy. 

“Daisy!” Nick screamed, running in the direction of the woman’s voice, his feet leading him to a dank and decrepit dungeon. “Nicky?” A weak female voice called out, before Nick saw a hand reach out from the bars. Nick ran up and sat across from the bars, tears pooling at his eyes, “Daisy, you’re okay.”

The girl was in a male’s buttoned shirt and her white pantaloons, the pants stained red with blood. Nick could notice underneath the powder blue shirt that she was bandaged (poorly) with gauze. “What happened?” Nick asked, eyebrows furrowed, as the girl looked down at the concrete floor beneath her. “I…the beast. When he took me from Father, his claws pierced my side. And he … he bandaged me up.”

“What?” Nick questioned, his expression turning rather disgusted, “Daisy, you and Father are both raving about this … beast. Are you sure he’s even real?” Daisy seemed flabbergasted to hear Nick’s remark, “Of course I am! I saw him with my own eyes!”

Nick shook his head, reaching for his sister’s hand, “Come on. We have to get you out of here and to a proper doctor.” Daisy looked up at him, her watery blue eyes tearing up. The male heard what sounded like claws on metal and grabbed Daisy’s hand tightly. With his other hand, Nick tried to start fiddling with the cage door in an attempt to free Daisy, but it was locked shut. There was no way she was getting out. The sound grew louder and louder, and through Nick’s peripheral vision, he could see a large shadow.

With a fearsome howl, the beast made himself known. An absolutely massive, wolf-like creature with dried blood matted on its fur. It stood on two legs with no real difficulty, except for a rather hunched back, and the wolf had sky blue eyes that shone in the darkness of the dungeon. No pupils could be seen. The beast went back onto all fours, snarling at the brunette before lunging at him, tackling him and standing above him. The beast’s face was ablaze with red-hot anger.

“Stop this!” Daisy screamed out in an attempt to help her brother, but the beast did not listen. Instead, his supernatural eyes bore into Nick’s soul; he felt the blood drain from his face. He attempted to speak, “P-Please, I don’t want any trouble. I’m here to rescue my sister, Daisy.”

The beast’s features softened slightly as he glanced over at the blonde that was held captive in the cage. Her hands were wrapped around the bars, knuckles white as tears fell from her light eyes. “Please, let him go.” She pleaded in a soft voice. The beast tore his head away from Nick to stare into Daisy’s eyes, backing away from the brunette. He stood up on his hind legs once more, trying to appear civilized, even though his eight-foot stature and lengthened claws could not be further from the definition. 

“ _Both. Stay._ ” The beast suddenly uttered in a raspy voice, retching the door to the opposite cell open. He grabbed Nick by the sweater, throwing the brunette rather roughly into his new home. “No, please!” Daisy screamed, holding her side – it was clear that the yelling aggravated her wound. 

Nick couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. He was purely in fight-or-flight mode in this moment and could not process anything other than immense fear. The beast snarled, before falling back onto all fours and slowly leaving the pair behind. And that is when Nick finally broke down, all of the hidden stress and anger expressing itself in his tears. 

“I-I’m so sorry, Nicky. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…” Daisy mumbled. Nick looked up to his sister, eyes practically swollen shut from his tears.

He simply reached his hand out to her. “Don’t worry. I will keep you safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so much to the lovely @sewer_seance on Ao3 for beta-ing this work!  
> Please go check out their most recent Natsby story Kings or Pawns - it's definitely worth the read if you like mafia AUs!

**Author's Note:**

> “Since you are so kind as to think of me, be so kind as to bring me a rose, for as none grow hereabouts, they are a kind of rarity.”  
> Jeanne Marie Beaumont


End file.
